Wow, did my last post get some responses... Including the suicide gankers mentioned. I guess everyone needs their 15min of fame.
Anyways, reading around the net, I have been noticing an interesting pattern. The people who have been most enjoying Star Trek online seem to be those who least like EVE Online. Now I'm sure that some people will say this hurts EVE. They are wrong. Do you get that newbie in your corp who does nothing but bitch and moan? Then when you point out ways to avoid/overcome their problems they just bitch and moan some more that your solution is not how they want to play the game? They're the type who just never seem to "get" that EVE is PvP from the moment you undock to the moment you dock up. There are more rules and consequences in high sec but it's still a PvP environment.
After a while it gets rather annoying. It's the old saying writ large: you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink. After a while you begin to realize that these people are not only frustrating themselves but the rest of your corp. Well we finally have a proper space MMO to send them to that's not EVE. And from what I can read, it seems to cater to them very well. Which is good. I was getting tired of saying Hello Kitty Online is thataway. Now I can direct them to STO.
I'm probably never going to get Star Trek Online. Not enough of a crafting system to be worth it to me. Comes from being a jack of all trades. You guys may have noticed that the types of ships I tend to fly well tend to be the cloaky scouty kind of ships. Since scouting is such a large part of PvP in EVE, I get my fill of good scouting game play that way. Whether it's finding an elusive target or making sure that the combat boys are not surprised and can make informed decisions to engage or not, those are some of the great parts of EVE for me. You just don't get that in any other type of MMO than a full world non-instanced PvP MMO.
Some people like a bland, theme park, flavor to their MMOs. Other people like to use Blair's Sudden Death hot sauce. In a way I'm glad I have a bland space MMO to send these people because in the end their whining and moaning sucks the fun out of EVE faster than suicide ganking does.
So in the end, the two games being so very different means they won't really compete for audience. EVE will attract the more challenge oriented pilot, STO the more sedate theme park oriented pilot.
See I'll let you in on a little secret. In EVE the PvE stuff is not very challenging (at all). It lets you make the isk necessary to fuel your plans. That's it. Even sleepers - although more difficult than normal NPCs are not as much of a challenge as defeating an enemy fleet. Bring the right ships, know how they'll react and they can be reliably killed and processed for their chewy goodness. Other players on the other hand - that's where the challenge is. The challenge is makeing your plans work in the face of people like Red Boss and his friends. Understand that before you undock and you'll have the right mindset to survive in EVE. Get in a good corporation, learn proper PvP tactics - they'll have applications even with industrial ships. At least you'll know what limitations the other side is working with.
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I must just be the exception to the rule, then. I enjoy EVE and I enjoy STO. Part of it, I'm sure, is that I'm a sucker for almost anything with the Star Trek label on it - I've been watching the shows and movies for as long as I can remember, and with only a few exceptions (I'm looking at you, season three of Enterprise!) I've enjoyed them all. And while I get more long-term enjoyment out of EVE, between the IP and the fact that STO is much easier to play in shorter chunks. For example, in EVE, if I only have an hour or so to play, I'd probably spin in station for a while, waiting for the latest Russian and/or German 30-man roam to clear out, then go clear a couple of belts of rats, then go home for a day. In STO, in that same hour I could finish a couple of system patrols.
Granted, EVE is much more dynamic, much more player-driven, and orders of magnitude deeper than STO. But, sometimes you want chicken cordon bleu, and sometimes you just want chicken nuggets. Doesn't mean one is inherently superior. Just that there's no reason one has to exclude the other.
Or something like that. I really should learn not to post at 0345 in the morning. :-P
People leaving for STO may make things more homegeneous in your corporation, but it is not as obvious it is in your best interest. Each subscriber who leaves is less money for CCP and less that gets invested in the game. It doesn't matter if, after trying STO, they decide they don't like it. ( It hasn't been getting stellar reviews,) They are much more likely to move on to another MMO or xBox or whatever.
Subscription businesses like MMOs or magazines have to keep getting new customers just to replace the inevitable percentage who don't renew. Going forward, I would think that the Star Trek brand would have considerable advantages attracting new/replacement customers than a small Icelandic company.
100,000 subscribers who really, really get EVE are going to have fewer resources than 250,000 who really get EVE or 350,000 who get EVE. Each subscriber who leaves is definitely going to hurt CCP and probably going to hurt EVE Online. It is an individual taste as to whether one would choose whining and more resources or a calmer shrinking game.
Making it work in spite of guys like Red Boss... It's funny you would say that, as Red & Co have been through some really rough times themselves.. It was some hi-sec gankers and mean lowsec pirates that brought us to where we are. It's both sad and ironic that we are now being used as examples of people/things to avoid while you try to get your 5 minutes of prosperity in eve.
And yepp, now I kinda read your blog :P. And yepp, I will have to agree with Hagu that any competition for Eve is ultimately bad for us. People that renew means that all those things we wish were part of the game are less likely to become part of the game in the future (less budget). Because, ultimately, my 15$ is exactly the same to CCP as some whiny noob's 15$. It is also the same reason why, when I pop and pod a newbie I lured to lowsec with some absurdly under-priced skillbook, I convo him, try to put the game into perspective and change his loss into an experience that prods him into playing eve. Gotta keep CCP fed if you want a good game.
On another note, they really have to do something new with wormholes. I've got all these ideas, but I mean I'll settle for anything at this point. Most under-developed game mechanic EVER (besides FW).
competition for the Space MMO is a Good thing.
Whether you want the hello kitty version or the other more darker version there is always something to learn from an MMO especially one within the same genre.
I would imagine that things done in STO may have a ripple effect in EvE, but does that HURT eve? No.
Competition and the drive to be better than someone can REALLY drive a company as vast and diverse and talented as CCP to improve things they think are lacking.
My .02c, having just played STO a bit this past weekend. I knew EvE will always be first in my heart, when somebody shouted out in STO's Global - "XXXX is a fleet- thief..." (Fleets being corps in STO-Land) and I chuckled to myself. For me, with no ship loss consequences other than a 15-sec respawn timer, STO is "Internet Spaceships Light" while EvE will always be a tough bitch, but far more rewarding in the long run. My wife, a non-MMO gamer, is already giving me heat about buying STO as she knows how much I enjoy EvE. New Eden is about the players. STO is about the Star Trek universe. To each its own.
I am doubtful this will have a harmful effect. It may cut down on the number of short-term subscribers who would end up quitting anyway, but I also wonder if STO might not have a different and positive impact. I am fairly certain STO is going to bring people into the MMO market who have never played MMOs before. If some of those people get disenchanged with STO gameplay (and I am sure some will) I can see some of them ending up in EVE.
To abuse an anology, I think STO (and SWTOR) will expand the size of the space MMO cake. That can only be good for EVE, even if our 'slice' gets smaller the actual amount of calorie-laden goodness with increase :)
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